Miraphone Eb Tuba For sale - SOLD

[TVL]

Mirafone model 183 Eb 4 Valve Rotory Tuba for sale. Nice condition. It does have scratches and small dents throughout. It has been serviced and cleaned(Ultrasonic) by a local repair shop. It does not come with a case or mouthpiece. The mouthpiece receiver is .55".
I don't really know how well it plays as I am not an Eb Tuba player but I do know that everything is clean and functional. I have it boxed up and ready to ship in 2 separate boxes. I would be willing to drive a distance to meet. I live in the Des Moines Iowa area.

Asking $1200 plus shipping

paypal or cash only

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[bort2.0]

Ooh, pretty! Get up to Minneapolis ever?

[bisontuba]

Great deal….

[bloke]

That looks really nice. I wonder what happened to the original recording bell, and where that bell came from.

[jtm]

A couple days ago I said—out loud, even—that I didn’t need an Eb tuba, but this is hard to resist.

[bloke]

I’m only looking at pictures through my phone, but the pictures - plus logic - tell me that it’s probably been refinished. Also, the serial number sort of makes me wonder if it originally had clockspring linkage, which may have also been swapped out with the refinishing job and the upright bell thing.

Those things don’t play like English-style E flat tubas at all… more (to me) like an elongated small F tuba.
…and I’m thinking that they were made in two bore size it’s over the years, and that the later/larger bore size was the same as a couple of other models – 18mm.
I’m thinking that the really old ones - with a smaller bore size - also sported a small shank receiver.
Assuming the valves are good - and assuming that someone doesn’t expect it to play like a compensating E flat, someone’s going to really like this instrument.

[Mary Ann]

All of you know I've been looking for an Eb tuba -- but the only way it appears to contact this guy is via PM here. So -- I did. I figure this would be about like having an Eb F tuba, and think it would fit my needs quite well. So if it's meant to be, it will be.

[TVL]

Thanks for the comments and interest in this!
It is now sold!

[DonO.]

Did you get it, Mary Ann? If so, congrats!

[bort2.0]

It wasn't me!

[Mary Ann]

Did you get it, Mary Ann? If so, congrats!

No. If I had known the post was there the day it was put up, likely I would have gotten it. But after I wrote him this morning when I did see it, he wrote back and said he sold it this morning. I wish someone had pinged me that this was there.

[gnimoyw]

Hi all, I'm the buyer of this great horn, which I received on Friday (the seller should get props for an A+ packing job and smooth transaction).

I'm looking for thoughts on a good mouthpiece for this horn. The shank is very small - it's between a large and small trombone mouthpiece shank. I spoke with Doug Elliott and he guesses that it's a "medium euphonium" shank size. I'm thinking about ordering a full piece from him, but before doing so, I thought I would ask in case anyone has something like this sitting around that might work for me. I'd prefer an actual tuba mouthpiece obviously (and not a bass trombone mouthpiece with a small shank, for example).

The alternative would be to have a good tech change the shank out to a standard tuba shank, but I've read that other 183s have suffered from intonation problems as a result of this. Thoughts on either approach would be appreciated!

I really like DE mouthpieces but they've obviously quite expensive, especially for this horn, which will be a "play it every once in a while in a quintet" type purchase.

[bloke]

Where do you live?

What if (??) you had him make a euphonium-size (Willson 2900 and old B&H size) shank which bolts up smooth to some of his more popular tuba cups, and then try out two or three of his cups/rims/etc. with that shank?

alternative:
If the nickel over-part will un-solder and remove, heat the receiver (underneath - which is formed from the mouthpipe tube itself) to the point of annealing (softening it), use a bass trombone mouthpiece as a tool to expand the receiver up to (at least) bass trombone size (which will give you at least a few OTC tuba mouthpiece options) and replace the original over-part (basically: just a nickel tube with some fanciness) with one slightly larger.

Based on your reports, this hints to me that the instrument is a really old model 83, which featured a bore size SMALLER THAN 18mm.
I'm thinking that later, the 83 model bore size was 18mm (same as model 80 and 84).

[gnimoyw]

Thanks Bloke, I’m way out west, far from Tennessee or I’d happily swing by and let you take a look.

The first option - small shank with some of his more popular cups and rims is exactly what I’m leaning towards.

If I wanted to measure the bore on the horn to see what it is, exactly where would I measure?

[bort2.0]

What about the small shank Denis Wick mouthpieces? Still tuba mouthpieces, but they have a bass trombone sized shank.

I use one on my Martin Eb.

[gnimoyw]

Unfortunately the bass trombone mouthpiece I have here only goes in a millimeter or so, basically not at all.

[bort2.0]

Unfortunately the bass trombone mouthpiece I have here only goes in a millimeter or so, basically not at all.

Maybe the bass trombone mouthpiece is the weirdo?

[greenbean]

I would be very surprised if the receiver were smaller than "small European" shank (aka Besson shank or bass trombone shank). It is what many Eb tubas have. Confirm that your bass trombone mouthpiece is standard and then have the receiver swapped out if it really is smaller. Well, that is what I would do.

[bort2.0]

I just pulled out my calipers and measured the inside diameter of the receiver of my Martin Eb -- 0.55 in. Which is the bass trombone/small shank tuba size. The small shank Denis Wick fits perfectly.

Frankly, I'm surprised to see that on a Miraphone, but if they were trying to sell this to a British market and wanted people to use the mouthpieces they already had for their British stuff...could make sense.

@gnimoyw what exact mouthpiece did you try with it?

[bloke]

If it’s like one that Ray Grim used to have - which I saw at his house several years ago, I might believe that the receiver is (not just small. but) extra small. I’m almost certain that Ray’s featured the extra small bore size as well.

To determine the bore size, just measure the inside of one of the valve slides (not the main slide), after you pull it out of the instrument.

It seems to me that maybe the most economical solution would be to reach out and see if someone has a used (regular) small shank Wick mouthpiece that you can purchase for some sort of pretty low price, jam it on a horizontal drumstick secured in a vice on your workbench, put a wadded up beach towel on the floor (just in case you spin the mouthpiece off of the drumstick), and sand the shank of a Wick small shank mouthpiece down until it fits in that receiver.

I sell somewhat expensive mouthpieces with my name on them, but I don’t know that I would spend hundreds of dollars on a mouthpiece until I was actually able to first at least play the instrument for which such a mouthpiece was being purchased.